Elon Musk is currently under investigation by federal authorities, Twitter informs judge

Elon Musk is under federal investigation for his conduct in the $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, according to a court filing by the social networking giant. Twitter claims that “through his attorney, he has exchanged substantial correspondence with these authorities regarding their investigations.“

Federal authorities are investigating Elon Musk, according to Twitter

Twitter revealed in a court filing released Thursday that Elon Musk, is under federal investigation in connection with his $44 billion bid to buy Twitter.

In an Oct. 6 letter to U.S. District Judge Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick, who is overseeing the company’s case against Musk, Twitter’s lawyers said they have been requesting documents from Musk related to the investigation since July 22. The lawyers wrote:

Elon Musk is currently under investigation by federal authorities for his conduct in connection with the Twitter acquisition. Through his counsel, he has exchanged substantial correspondence with these authorities regarding their investigations.

While noting that these documents “deal with key issues in this dispute“, the lawyers insisted: “Twitter requested production of these documents several months ago. But with 11 days to go before the trial, the defendants have yet to produce them.“

In their letter, Twitter’s lawyers also refer to a letter the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reportedly sent to Musk in June. According to Twitter, the SEC was looking for information related to a tweet Musk posted in May, stating that “the deal can’t move forward“Until the social media company provides it with more information about spam and fraud accounts on the platform.

The SEC also questioned Twitter about the company’s method of identifying spam accounts. In a July 27 letter, the SEC told Twitter, “We have completed our review of your filings. We remind you that the company and its management are responsible for the accuracy and adequacy of their disclosures, notwithstanding any review, comment, action or inaction by the staff.“

Musk originally agreed to buy Twitter in April for about $44 billion. However, he later tried to back out of the deal, accusing Twitter of a material breach of the agreement. He officially pulled out of his bid to buy Twitter in July, claiming that the social media company had not been transparent about the number of bots and fake accounts on its platform. Musk outlined multiple reasons for ending the deal.

Twitter then sued Tesla’s CEO to force him to make the deal. Musk counter-sued Twitter. The trial between the two parties was scheduled to take place on October 17 in Delaware Chancery Court.

However, last week Musk said he would buy Twitter at the agreed-upon price of $54.20 per share. The court gave him until Oct. 28 to complete the acquisition and avoid a trial. Musk said the purchase of Twitter will accelerate the creation of “X, the universal app“.